GR170, ‘CLEPTOCRACY’

Not long ago we accompanied GR170 (Grito) in the process of his last intervention. The production, with typical GR170 dimensions, was a huge mural on the wall of a bridge below a road. A overwhelming urban landscape in the rural areas of the city, a intriguing contrast which is quite typical for the environments where the artists from the outskirts of Barcelona many times find their creativity.

GR170 has a very characteristic style, and his skills are worth mentioning. The paint roller seems as if it was a part of his body when you watch him work. Thanks to extenders he multiplies his reach and brings his paintings to astonishing heights, and he even makes it look like it was easy.

His composition, saturated by characters and colors, is presented through a phrase that insinuates its message: ‘Cleptocracy‘.

Among the obvious nonsense you become to see more recognizable images in his work: A character in a suit with a mask is, with no doubt, a portrait of todays political situation: Unpunished thieves. A police car goes around looking for criminals in the more cheerful part of the painting, and a bird flies over the scene carrying a envelope (democraship) with the colors blue and red in his mouth (Bird in spanish is pájaro, and is used in slang to say that someone is a fool or stupid. Blue and red for political colors, all in the same bag). All the elements of the painting are open for interpretation, but all of them reveals the message of a definite critique of todays political system. A magnificent and colorful denunce in a amusing style and, all this, in a captivating atmosphere.